TRAILER ANALYSIS: THE

‘The Shining’ is a 1980 supernatural horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson in a career-defining role as a caretaker of the Overlook hotel who loses his mind. The film is regularly listed amongst the greatest horror films ever made, and is often cited as an inspiration for more sophisticated

modern-day horrors. The style of direction and use of still imagery throughout The Shining is the strongest influence behind my own promotional package, and it is therefore of paramount importance that the trailer

is analysed – in order to understand why it is so successful and powerful, 34 years on.The trailer opens with a non-diegetic voiceover dominating a slowly building soundtrack of what sounds

like an oncoming storm/static on a television. Even though the first shot is the Warner Bros logo, because of the nature of these sounds, the audience will be made immediately aware of the fact that it is a horror film.

Furthermore, as it fades into two long establishing panning shots of a lonely landscape and a hotel, the audience are also given the impression that this will be a relatively conventional horror – as an isolated

haunted residence is a common convention of this genre. The voiceover then appears to directly address the viewers, as he questions whether they have heard of ‘the tragedy we had up here in the winter of 1970’. This introduces a backstory into the trailer that will drive the film and is another common convention shown at the start of trailers, and serves as an instant source of intrigue to capture the audience’s attention as well as consolidating the genre. Within these two shots, the lighting is ambient and the colours light, highlighting

how all is seemingly at ease despite the nature of the mentioned ‘tragedy’ that occurred recently within the film. However, the use of a jump cut as the scene transitions perfectly captures the juxtaposition of shots – although the establishing ones were light in tone and extreme long shots, the new scene being displayed is a shallow focus close up of Nicholson’s character, illuminated by low key lighting. Ultimately, this highlights

how all may appear well on the exterior of the hotel, but the interior will be the placement for all the horror within the film, and due to the immediate focus on Nicholson, it is evident that he will serve as the primary

antagonist for this.

Indeed, as these first few shots progress, it appears as though as the consistent narration of the voiceover is talking about this character’s endeavours. For example, as he states that the individual who murdered his

family seemed ‘completely normal’, a slow tracking camera movement pulls out to show Nicholson’s character gesturing wildly and shouting in an empty corridor. The antithesis of seeming ‘completely

normal’ and his aggressive gestures further implies that this is the subject of the voiceover. Proceeding on from this, another establishing extreme long shot is used before being intercut with another establishing

shot of the same subject but in different weather. Further contrast here illuminates how the trailer is steadily growing darker and more violent, even in terms of the weather itself – snowstorms are inherently

more threatening than sunny weather, and represent the characters descent into coldness/detachment from reality. Kubrick’s decision to constantly juxtapose shots in the beginning of this trailer, while using the

voiceover as a sound and narrative bridge to give meaning to every shot, is fully implicative of the contrast between the ‘completely normal’ individual and the madness that urged him to kill his family. He is

effectively summarising the narrative through using this method. In accordance with this idea, the next shot utilises a Steadicam to push in to Nicholson, while simultaneously panning to show him peering around a

corner wielding an axe. The scene then abruptly cuts to black as the voiceover claims the individual ‘killed his family with an axe’, and the proceeding shot then displays Nicholson hammering an axe into a door.

Blue and red are the most prominent colours within this scene and, despite it being the climax of the voiceover’s tale, remains brightly lit. This emphasises the colours and insinuates how Nicholson’s character

is influenced by paranormal entities, as blue is a colour most associated with the supernatural genre. Subsequently, the film is elevated to a further degree of sophistication, generating even more intrigue for

the audience.Again, the actions here are concurrent with the voiceover, and with this disturbing statement, the non-diegetic soundtrack that was previously quiet and dormant rises up in a sharp crescendo, creating

an explosion of tension. In a way, this almost indicates the end of the story, and

SHININGhttp://youtu.be/1G7Ju035-8U

may prompt audiences to question why there is still a minute left of playing time – and this notion has been deliberately fabricated by Kubrick in order to shock them into a deeper sense of intrigue within the next scene. Here, the voiceover is attributed to a man, out of shot, who has been speaking directly to Nicholson (shown in a well lit close up) discussing events prior to his induction. This creates a huge sense of irony for the characters, as well as displaying how Kubrick was merely foreshadowing events within those first 30

seconds of the trailer. The Nicholson within these shots is smiling, well-dressed, and a reflection of the ‘completely normal’ individual mentioned earlier, and because of this, the audience knows that he will assume the role of the previous caretaker and meet a similar outcome. Consequently, the lack of non-

diegetic sounds seems to add further relevance to the dialogue within the scene, and the irony within it.

The scene cuts to a strap, which ultimately marks a shift in the tone and pace of the trailer now the audience are aware that Nicholson’s story still remains untold. A series of startlingly quick shots that jump between wide, detached establishing shots and close up tracking shots of each of the family members occur

in conjunction with a non-diegetic orchestral soundtrack that rises and falls. The faster pacing of these shots accelerates to the inevitable action that the audience will already be aware of, and begins to paint a

brief introduction to the cast. Further conventions are met with the use of the child in touch with the supernatural, and the audience is made immediately aware of his importance by his voice being used a

sound bridge between the scenes, which begin to flicker more noticeably between ambient lighting and low key lighting, tracking shots and static shots. Kubrick is using contrast even more here to demonstrate the

rapid disintegration of Nicholson’s sanity, who is consistently shown as separate from the rest of his family and is placed majoritively within static shots, as opposed to the fluid tracking shots surrounding his son (Danny) and wife. It is as though Nicholson is coming to terms with his own insanity and the isolation

causing it, and this is reflected in the continuous drumbeat heard throughout the soundtrack that speeds up throughout these shots, until it culminates in a series of jump zooms on Nicholson that are each punctuated by a series of these beats. This transferral from a medium shot to a close up is representative of the chaotic,

unstable nature of Jack’s mind, beneath the ‘completely normal’ exterior foreshadowed earlier in the trailer. Other changes are noticeable at this mark too; the depiction of the weather has finally settled to

show the snow storm instead of the sunny chill, Nicholson wears darker clothes and appears unshaven, and the sounds of the said storm merge in with the soundtrack. All of this is symbolic of the effect that the

isolation is having on Nicholson’s character, and how the more time he spends alone, the less time it will take for him to detach himself from his family and eventually commit murder. Moreover, this is reflected within the next few shots, as supernatural imagery becomes more apparent and a ghostly voiceover urges

him to deal with the family ‘in the harshest possible way’. As the day turns to night, the colour blue returns in great prominence, and the ambient lighting itself is tinted with this colour during scenes of profile

lighting on Nicholson as he walks towards his wife, and lengthy panning shots of the outdoor fog and dark skies. The first definitive hint of the supernatural is seen as Danny encounters two little twins who are

dressed in period clothing – but the fact that they are shown only for an instant illustrates how Kubrick wants the audience to question what subgenre the film falls under. Indeed, this is reflected in the narrative

itself, as many question whether the ‘ghosts’ seen are hallucinations brought upon by the immense isolation, or genuine hauntings of the dead girls who were murdered prior to their arrival. It is this uncertainty that

will drive audiences to watch the film and find out.

The following scenes display Nicholson’s battle with the insanity that plagues him, and show his attempts to reconnect with his family for better or worse. Firstly, a strap is used in conjunction with a loud, non-

diegetic bell, to pave the way for this shift in tone. By using the sound of a bell – which will resonate at every strap shown from this point onwards – the audience are inclined to conjure up associations with the

oncoming approach of death and the supernatural. Bells are usually used as an indicator of significant events to come, and this resonates within the context of the trailer, as the inevitable slaughter that the

audience expect approaches. Also, through stating that it is ‘based upon a novel by Stephen King’, audiences will immediately recognise the film as a horror, and it will appeal to even more viewers due to

Stephen King being a very popular author at the time. Proceeding on from this, the soundtrack shifts to a heavy, consistent drumbeat that quickly boosts the tension and heightens the significance of each following shot, representative of Jack’s last attempts at holding onto his sanity. This idea is supported by the nature